About Karl

Karl Golden, a reputable musician, online educator and best selling amazon author. With a proficiency across a spectrum of instruments including guitar, bass, ukulele, and mandolin, Karl has established himself as a versatile and passionate musician. His love for both playing and teaching is evident in every endeavor he undertakes.

Originating from London, UK, he brings forth a rich reservoir of musical expertise, marked by his participation in various original, function, and cover bands, both as a solo performer and within a group setting. His presence has graced numerous stages throughout his career. In recent times, Karl's prowess as a YouTube content creator has garnered him recognition, with a subscriber base exceeding 260,000 and his video content amassing over 60 million views. Notably, he has also engaged in collaborations with prestigious brands including Ernie Ball, Music Man, SE Electronics, Fender, Shergold Guitars, Faith Guitars, BandZoogle, DistroKid, among others.

From 2004 to 2008, Karl received formal education in Contemporary Popular Music at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford, where he earned a Higher Diploma and Degree. He received instruction from esteemed musicians such as Jamie Humphries, Giorgio Serci, Pete Friesen, and Dave Kilminster, and being in the company of so many talented musicians inspired him to develop his own unique style of playing, both in the studio and in live performances.

In 2007, Karl joined his first original rock band, Zalinski, and with them, he performed at notable venues in London such as The O2 Academy in Islington, Nambucca, The Purple Turtle, Proud, and The Barfly in Camden. In 2010, the band supported Pete Doherty at The Rhythm Factory. Karl also took part in the recording and production of Zalinski's debut EP "Actions, Reactions & Misunderstandings," which was released worldwide on CD and through digital distribution platforms such as iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify. The band's music received positive reviews from various music publications.

Zalinski's music reviews include: 

"positively original...will blow you away" Music-Zine 

"Gorgeous indie guitar tones"  Total Guitar 

"...seriously brilliant songs " www.toxicpete.co.uk 

"...a mind absorbing soundscape" Roomthirteen.com 

"...takes traditional rock on a little adventure" Rock 'n' Reel  

"Quite simply fantastic" Alternative Vision Magazine 

In 2009, Karl performed session work for Bluey Robinson on BBC Radio One, playing electric guitar on his debut single "I Know" and an acoustic version on ITN music. He also performed with Bluey in London and Paris.

Despite his success in music, Karl found it challenging to make a living from it. In early 2012, he decided to take a full-time job in the film industry and use his free time to create musical content on YouTube, believing that this could be a new way of reaching out to people and sharing his music. The success of other musicians on YouTube, such as Rob Chapman and Elías Barreda, served as inspiration.

Karl's first self-produced solo single, "You're So Complicated," was released in 2012 and featured the young and talented singer Lui Matthews. He also released a music video for the track, directed by Dominic Rossetti and Tamrone Sellwood of Eternal Media Productions. In 2015, Karl released his debut album, "Living On A Knife Edge," which featured Lui Matthews as the vocalist. He self-produced and funded the album and, with the help of his large online following, it was a great success.

All this hard work paid off in 2016 when his video '100 Riffs Goes Ukulele' reached over 1 million views and in the same year he reached 100,000 subscribers. To date he has achieved over 60 million views on youtube and over 700 videos, and counting. 

In 2017 Karl built 'Golden Studios', his own personal recording studio where he is now able to write, film and record music freely ). In late 2017, with the gradual success of his YouTube channel, he made the decision to focus on this full time and follow his dream of working on music full time. 

In 2018 Karl reached over 200,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel and over 40 million views on his video content. With his continued success he has become an artist for lots of major companies such as Ernie Ball, Faith Guitars, SE Electronics, Focusrite and Shergold Guitars. 

In 2020 Karl became an author writing and releasing his first four books in 'The Ultimate Book Series', focusing on guitar and ukulele education. He also became a father for the first time which presented new challenges in balancing work and family life.

In 2021 he released three more books, The Ultimate Guitar Sweep Picking Book, The Ultimate Bass Scales Book and The Ultimate Bass Chord & Arpeggios Book. In 2023 his bass books both became best sellers on Amazon.

As of 2023 onwards Karl focuses on music education through his books and online social media balancing a new life of raising children and working on new educational content. Join the mailing list to keep up to date with new adventures! 

Debut Solo Album 'Living On A Knife Edge' released in 2015 featuring Lui Matthews

YouTube award plaque for reaching over 100,000 subscribers. Known as the 'Silver Play Button'

PROUD achievements

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PHOTOS